Slide # 1 Approaches to Psychology. Slide # 2 The Different Approaches The problems you wish to investigate are tied to a number of theoretical approaches.

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Presentation on theme: "Slide # 1 Approaches to Psychology. Slide # 2 The Different Approaches The problems you wish to investigate are tied to a number of theoretical approaches."— Presentation transcript:

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Slide # 2 The Different Approaches The problems you wish to investigate are tied to a number of theoretical approaches to psychology There are six basic approaches to the study of psychology (some psychologists also include a seventh approach)

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Slide # 4 Application How do you explain the causes of depression? How do you examine the personality of an assassin?

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Slide # 5 Application #2 How can we explain the power of cult leaders? What social conditions exist that promote the rise of cults?

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Slide # 6 Application #3 How could you investigate the causes of mental illness?

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Slide # 7 Application #4 How could you explain the reasons for obedience to authority?

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Slide # 8 Application #5 How could you achieve a better understanding of why a person would commit suicide?

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Slide # 9 Application #6 Where would you look if you wanted to understand how and why some people seem so extraordinary and important in our society?

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Slide # 10 Overview of Each Approach Biological: Focuses primarily on the activities of the nervous system, the brain, hormones, and genetics Psychodynamic: Emphasizes internal, unconscious conflicts; the focus is on sexual and aggressive instincts that collide with cultural norms

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Slide # 12 Overview (cont.) Cognitive: Focuses on the mechanisms through which people receive, store, and process information Humanistic: Emphasizes an individual’s potential for growth and the role of perception in guiding mental processes and behavior

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Slide # 14 The Evolutionary Approach Functionalism Why we do what we do The influence of Charles Darwin

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Slide # 15 Natural Selection An evolutionary process in which individuals of a species that are best adapted to their environments are the ones most likely to survive; they then pass on these traits to their offspring

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Slide # 16 James’s Adaptation of Darwin’s Principles “The most adaptive behaviors in an individual are the ones that grow stronger and become habitual.”

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Slide # 17 Key Points in the Evolutionary Approach The adaptive value of behavior The biological mechanisms that make it possible The environmental conditions that either encourage or discourage behavior

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Slide # 18 The Adaptive Value Evolutionary psychology examines behaviors in terms of their adaptive value for a species over the course of many generations

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Slide # 22 The Biological Approach Behavior and mental processes are largely shaped by biological processes It is not identified with any single contributor

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Slide # 23 The Biological Focus The brain and central nervous system Sensation and perception Autonomic nervous system Endocrine system Heredity and genetics

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Slide # 24 Biological Focus (cont.) The physiological basis of how we learn and remember The sleep-wake cycle Motivation and emotion Understanding the physical bases of mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia

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Slide # 57 The Cognitive Perspective Studies people’s mental processes in an effort to understand how humans gain knowledge about the world around them Cognito = Latin for “knowledge” How we learn, form concepts, solve problems, make decisions, use language

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Slide # 58 What Is Cognition? An “unobservable” mental process The study of consciousness, physiological determinants of behavior 1950s-1960s: new understanding of children’s cognitive development

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Slide # 59 Advocates of the Cognitive Approach The manipulation of mental images can influence how people behave The focus is not on “overt” behavior The cognitive method can be studied objectively and scientifically

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Slide # 60 Wilhelm Wundt He used “introspection” as a research technique He set up the first psychology laboratory Voluntarism

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Slide # 72 What Is Behaviorism? Focuses on observable behavior and the role of learning in behavior Behaviorism continues to influence modern psychology The role of reward and punishment in learning

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Slide # 79 Why Has Psychology’s Focus Been So Narrow? Cross-cultural research is costly, difficult, and time consuming Psychology has traditionally focused on the individual, not the group Cultural comparisons may foster stereotypes